


Seven Little Numbers

by verbaeghe



Category: Hockey RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - Not Hockey Player(s), Fluff, M/M, Misunderstandings, Pining, SO MUCH FLUFF, Tampa Bay Lightning, one of them anyway
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-08
Updated: 2017-07-08
Packaged: 2018-11-07 21:37:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,908
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11067633
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/verbaeghe/pseuds/verbaeghe
Summary: Jonathan Drouin has himself a nice, new phone complete with a brand new number. It's all super...right up until he gets a confusing and somewhat rude voicemail from an unknown number.





	Seven Little Numbers

**Author's Note:**

  * For [coup_de_foudre](https://archiveofourown.org/users/coup_de_foudre/gifts).



> Many thanks to my beta, you're awesome! ♥

Jonathan looks down at his new phone and smiles.

It feels like such a big step to save enough money to buy the latest iPhone instead of just getting an Android that’s a couple of versions behind and hoping for the best. He’d been a little attached to his old number, but it was technically his mom’s number, so he has a brand new local number of his own to go along with the spiffy phone.

He was especially glad to find out about the app that transferred his contacts over to his new phone over Bluetooth because it made the switch over so easy. All he has to do is use the app to move everything and then send texts to his (thankfully small) list of friends informing them of his new number.

Now if he could only shake off his childhood nickname of Jo, he’d be in business.

//

A few days after he gets his new phone, it rings with an unknown number. He lets it go to voicemail since he doesn't know who it is, and is surprised when it chirps at him that he has a message. He looks at it for a second before dialing in.

“Hey, I found that stupid ‘schmmedium’ shirt that _you_ left here and I _did not_ take. Call me back so I can give it to you.”

The voice sounds vaguely familiar for some reason, and it’s a pretty amusing message - what the hell, ‘schmmedium’ - but Jo hasn’t lost any shirts, so he decides to just ignore the call.

He gets a couple more calls and another voicemail over the next few hours, though, so eventually he decides to text the guy and let him know that he isn’t whoever that guy thinks he is. After a few re-wordings, he thinks that he comes up with a pretty good text:

Me: **_Hey, I wanted to let you know that I just got this number like a week ago and that I’m not whoever you’re trying to reach. I hope you can get in touch with them._ **

Jo hits send and thinks that will be the end of it, but he gets a reply just a few minutes later.

UN **_: Yeah right answer the phone you jerk_ **

The phone starts ringing right in his hand and he panics, rejecting the call.

UN: **_Don’t send me to voicemail!_ **

Me: **_I’m sorry I’m not who you’re trying to reach_ **

UN: **_Look, Captain America, I’m not in the mood to deal with any more of your pranks today_ **

Me: **_I’m French Canadian_ **

UN: **_Stop_ **

Me: **_I am!_ **

UN: **_Ryan._ **

Jo sighs and decides to call the guy because that’s apparently what it’s going to take. It rings three times and he’s getting ready to hang up on voicemail when it finally connects.

“It’s about time, you asshole.”

“Bonjour, je m'appelle Jo,” he replies, hoping that French is enough to prove that he isn’t-

Aww, crap. So much for getting away from Jo. Oh well. It isn’t like he’s ever going to talk to this guy again.

“Which of you did he put up to this?”

“I, um. I’m Jo. I wasn’t put up to anything.”

“You tell Ryan that when I see him tomorrow he’s going to regret making me jump through hoops over this stupid shirt.”

“I’m-” The line goes dead. He pulls his phone back, looks at the flashing time count until the screen goes black. He can’t believe that someone would be so rude. No wonder Ryan didn’t give his new number to that guy.

//

Jo is surprised when his phone rings from the unknown number a couple days later, since he’d been under the impression that the guy would see Ryan and get it taken care of, or whatever. He’s going to let it go to voicemail, but curiosity gets the better of him by the last ring and he picks up.

“Hello?”

“I’m sorry,” the guy on the other end says without a greeting. He sounds sheepish when he continues, “Ryan changed his number but forgot to tell me and he’s a prankster so I thought...well, I guess you know the rest.”

Jo means to tell him that it’s no problem, to say ‘no hard feelings’ and leave it at that, but what comes out is, “I don’t even know your name.”

“It’s Steven,” he answers with a quiet chuckle. There’s a pause and then, “How did you end up in Tampa if you’re French Canadian?”

“I interned here and then the company offered me a pretty good job, so I stayed,” Jo answers then remembers what Steven said the other day. “You know other French Canadians? How?”

“I work with some,” he replies, and Jo can almost hear him smiling. He starts to ask for more information, but remembers that he’s talking to a complete stranger and lets it go.

“Well, um. I’m glad that you got everything settled on your end.”

“Me too, thanks. And, uh. Sorry again.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Jo says before hanging up.

After a moment’s debate, he adds ‘Steven’ to his contacts, but he’s pretty sure that’s the end of it.

//

He’s surprised a couple of days later when he gets a notification of a text from Steven. He squints at his phone in disbelief for a minute before he keys it open.

It’s a picture of an old lady with a popsicle, the caption reads ‘ALL THESE FLAVORS AND YOU CHOOSE TO BE SALTY’

Jo looks at it for a second. He cocks his head, a little perplexed by the text, then replies:

Me: **_Did you mean to send this picture to me_ **?

Steven: **_Yeah, Ryan sent it to me because of the other day and I thought you may think it was funny, considering_ **

Me: **_Oh, well, it is. Lol_ **

After that they just sort of start talking. It’s pretty patchy at first, a stray exchanges here and there; a picture that one wants to share with the other or ‘how is your day?’ or ‘Man, I just did the hardest work out and I’m exhausted’. Eventually they’re talking almost every day, sharing random thoughts or talking about how they miss their hometowns.

Jo doesn’t know where Steven is from, but he can understand the feeling.

//

He thinks he likes Steven. It’s ridiculous, because he doesn’t know anything about the guy. Not what he likes or dislikes, or what he does for a living. He doesn’t have even the vaguest idea of what Steven looks like...but none of that matters, apparently, because the first thing he does every morning is check his phone for a text and if that doesn’t say smitten, he doesn’t know what does.

Jo sighs. How can he like someone that he’s never even seen? And who the heck uses the word smitten? What is wrong with him? He knows that he should stop answering when Steven texts him; it shouldn’t be that hard to ghost someone that he’s never actually met.

His phone dings. He picks it up, smiles at the picture of the Hollywood sign that Steven has sent him and replies with a picture of his dog captioned ‘my view is better, so’. His heart flutters a bit when Steven sends back a string of emojis that seem to be in agreement.

The problem is that he doesn’t want to stop, and he’s never been good at making himself stop doing anything that he wants to do, even when he needs to.  

//

Me: **_Do you ever wonder what I look like?_ **

Jo isn't so sure he should push, but he’s been wondering about Steven more and more lately. What does he look like? Would he like how Jo looks? Does he have a type and would Jo even fit into it? He feels like they’re on the same page when Steven’s reply seems to echo his thoughts.  

Steven: **_Occasionally, but I didn’t want to push or anything._ **

**_What do you look like?_ **

He’s always hated describing himself, but he’s the one who brought it up, so he takes a breath and tries to come up with something.

Me: **_Well, I have dark hair and eyes...I’m a little over 6 feet tall_ **

It looks sort of boring and vague to  him, so he adds:

**_My hair is the worst, I swear. Fluff everywhere_ **

Jo screws up his face. How ridiculous and the opposite of charming could he possibly be?

Steven: ** _lol._** **_It doesn’t sound so bad_**

Much more, apparently, since Steven seems on-board with it. Jo breathes a small sigh of relief.

Steven: **_I have blonde hair and blue eyes_ **

_**Zero fluff** _

Me: **_Well, you’re lucky_ **

There’s a long pause where Jo is watching the little bubbles bounce in the window. He wonders if Steven is writing a lot, or if he’s just re-writing something over and over trying to make it perfect.

Steven: **_I like dark hair and eyes_ **

Me: **_You do?_ **

Jo can feel himself blushing even though Steven’s text is just a general statement. Sure, it’s about him in theory, but...Jo glances at a window to see his reflection. He’s alright, but he isn’t amazing or anything and who knows what Steven is actually picturing?

Steven: **_Yeah_ **

**_Do you like hockey?_ **

Me: **_Yeah, I go to some Lightning games. Why, do you?_ **

Steven: **_Yeah, I like hockey_ **

Jo wonders if Steven is about to ask him if he’d like to meet at a game, which he _so would_ , but his phone is quiet for a long time after that. And what he receives when it does finally ping again is pretty disappointing.

Steven: **_Sorry, I have to go. I’ll talk to you later_ **

He spends the next few hours reading back over the texts, obsessing over what he could have said or did wrong.

//

Steven doesn’t text him for so long that he thinks that maybe _he_ was ghosted. That makes the text he finally receives almost two weeks later is a bit of a shock.

Steven: **_We should meet_ **

Jo looks at the text, wonders how he should respond. Should he be mad that Steven blew him off all of this time just to come out of nowhere with ‘we should meet’? Or should he jump on the chance to meet someone that he gets along with so well despite the lack of recent contact? There’s also a small voice in the back of his head that worries about serial killers.

He ignores that voice.

Me: **_Sure, we can, if you want_ **

**_But, I sort of got the impression that you didn’t the last time we texted_ **

Steven: **_No, I really did have to go. And I was super busy the last couple of weeks_ **

**_That isn’t an excuse, I should have found time for you. I’m sorry_ **

Jo’s heart melts, because he’s just that easy. He huffs while he types out his reply.

Me: **_Did you have anywhere in particular in mind?_ **

Steven: **_There’s a Starbucks on Hillsborough. How about there?_ **

After that it’s just a matter of setting up the date and time and Steven telling him what he’ll be wearing.  

Then Jo spends the next two days pretty much vibrating with excitement.

//

Jo is running a few minutes late when he pulls into the small parking lot. He has to circle a couple of times before a spot opens up. He sits there for a few seconds after he puts his car in park, taking a couple of deep breaths.

He’s as ready as he’s going to be.

Jo scans the small shop as he walks in, looking for a grey tracksuit and a backward ball cap, then freezes when his eyes fall on Steven Stamkos in the corner. He’s looking away from Jo and out the window, trying to blend in, but it’s definitely him.

“What?” Jo mutters to himself. He scrambles for his phone, double checks the description, and sure as shit, Steven Stamkos is sitting there wearing exactly what Steven said he’d be wearing. Holy shit. Steven is _Steven Stamkos_ and Jo can’t...he just...can’t.

He steps up to the register, orders a drink, gives his name as Jonathan when asked. He pays, walks to the waiting area, closer to Steven, and stands there, trying to pretend that he isn’t looking and wondering why in the fuck Steven Stamkos would want to meet him.

But he can’t come up with a reason, so he accepts his drink wordlessly and leaves.

//

A couple of hours pass before he gets a text.

Steven: **_Are you okay? Why didn’t you show up?_ **

Me: **_Yeah, I’m fine_ **

Steven: **_Why didn’t you come?_ **

Me: **_I did. Turns out that_** **_you’re Steven Stamkos and DIDN’T TELL ME_**

Steven: **_Look at your reaction. Now you know why_ **

Jo can’t think of a reply, so he just shuts off his phone. He’ll deal with it later.

//

He doesn’t have any new texts when he turns it back on in the morning and he feels disappointed even though he knows he doesn’t have any right.

Now he’s really sure that’s the end of it...but he can’t bring himself to take Steven out of his contacts.

//

Jo goes back to regular life and his regular job and tries to push rude voicemails and funny stories and ridiculous memes from his mind. It was all just a silly distraction for a while anyway, because how could any of it be real when he didn’t know who Steven even was at the time?

And then he gets a text from another unknown number.

UN: **_My captain is still sulking and it’s your fault so fix it_ **

Me: **_Who is this?_ **

He has an idea. What a mind blower it had been to realize that Ryan of ‘Ryan’s old number’ was Ryan _Callahan._.. Jesus.

UN: **_It’s Ryan, you have my old number_ **

Me: **_Yeah, thanks for that_ **

UN: **_Just fix it so he stops moping around_ **

Me: **_Okay, but he doesn’t even know what I look like_ **

**_What if I’m not what he’s hoping for?_ **

**_What if I’m a disappointment?_ **

Jesus, why is he even blabbing all of this at, god, not even at someone he doesn’t know -- it’s worse. At Ryan Freaking Callahan? He doesn’t know the guy, and the guy doesn’t know him. He’s just about to text again, try to play the whole thing off and act like he doesn’t care when another text comes through.

UN: **_What if you stopped feeling sorry for yourself and talked to him?_ **

He has a point.

Jo spends a little time thinking. He debates just texting Steven or maybe even calling him, but decides that what Steven deserves after the asshole Jo’s been is some sort of grand romantic overture. He comes up with and rejects a couple of smaller gestures (sending him flowers doesn’t seem like it would be enough, to be honest) before he finally comes up with a plan that seems both romantic and ridiculous enough.

If his life has turned into a romantic comedy he may as well go along with it.

He makes a sign, complete with shaded bubble letters and everything. He avoids glitter because his mom is still finding glitter from his preschool projects and he wants Steven to like him.

“Well, that’s as good as it’s going to get,” he says to his dog, who seems to agree. He rolls up the sign and heads downtown to wait out morning skate. He wants to arrive early even though he’s heard Steven almost always comes out last.

Most fans are gone when he finally sees Steven walk down the ramp. He’s nervous, but keeps his voice steady when he asks Steven to autograph his sign.

**BONJOUR, JE M'APPELLE JO**

He can tell when Steven realizes what it says, because his eyes just barely widen. He doesn’t say anything, but he does scribble something extra and offers Jo a small smile.

“Hey, what did he write besides his autograph?” someone nearby asks when Steven is walking back to his car.

Jo doesn’t answer the guy, he couldn’t care less about Ebayers. Instead, he looks down at his sign. He feels an urge to trace the sloppy letters as he reads them but manages to refrain.

_You know where to meet me_

Jo offers a little wave to the guys he _has_ been chatting with before he turns and leaves. He drives straight to Starbucks, where he picks a different spot to park in on purpose, and heads inside. He finds Steven sitting at the same table, fidgeting with a napkin.

His heart feels like it’s about to beat out of his chest as he makes his way over. Steven stands when he arrives at the table.

“Hi, um, I’m Jonathan. Jo,” he holds out his hand. Steven grasps it firmly, steps marginally closer.

“It’s nice to finally meet you.” Steven says, a smile that is much bigger than earlier blooming on his face.

Jo could get used to being smiled at like that. “So, I was thinking that we could start with coffee here, and then maybe I can take you out for dinner…” He grabs his phone, pulls up the calendar app. “Uh, looks like you _may_ not be busy next Friday. How about that?”

“I like my coffee with one sugar and two cream,” Steven answers. They beam at one another for a couple seconds, then Jo heads towards the register.

**Author's Note:**

> I was originally going to call this "New Number, Who Dis?", which is for some reason absolutely hilarious to me. Luckily, someone with more common sense than me prevailed, and the title of this comes from the song [Little Numbers](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zsyjS_vJfkw), which I think fits the mood of the story pretty well.
> 
> I hope you liked this :)


End file.
